Visiting Old Friends
by RogueMagic
Summary: Tsuna is in Japan and decides to visit Shoichi and Spanner who work in one of Vongola's cover-up companies. While he's waiting, an old class-mate who works there runs into him, not knowing that he's the Vongola Boss. Not a reveal story! Rating 'cause I'm paranoid. *Edit* this will become a series of semi-related one-shots. Technically, will always be complete.
1. Nakajima Daichi

**This is the first fanfiction I've ever written (and finished!), it is un-beeta'd and English is not my native launguege, so please forgive any mistakes I might've made!**

 **Constructive criticism and reviews are welcome!**

 ****I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

 **With that out of the way onward to the story!**

 **line break, which I have no idea how to** **do**

Visiting Old Friends

Tsunayoshi Sawada, the young Don of Vongola walked confidently into a branch of the Vongola company located in Namimori, it had been some time since he's been in his hometown and he decided to take this rare chance to check on things personally.

Dressed in comfortable casual wear, he looked nothing like he usually did, and if one did not know before hand they would not have known that he was Vongola Decimo.

Tsuna took in his surroundings discreetly, a habit drilled into him long ago by his tutor and advisor Reborn, heightened by his many meetings with mafia bosses and business associates alike. He noted the looks of displeasure and superiority thrown his way from passing workers and the security patrolling alike; despite the fact that most people were not in formal clothes, they were not as casually dressed as Tsuna in a comfortable orange hoodie that had his signature 27 on the back in white print, a pair of old blue jeans, and black sneakers, his brown hair as messy as always.

The brunet-used to more than their haughty glares and whispered displeasure thanks to his teenage years where he was known as Dame-Tsuna and had to deal with a lot of physical and emotional abuse from his peers and, in some instances, teachers and other adults, plus the battles he had to go through in the process of becoming Decimo and the ones he still deals with on a daily basis when dealing with other Dons and Donnas that believe themselves superior to the young man-payed them no mind; he was here to meet with Shoichi and Spanner, the two young men already familiar with him and share his dislike for formal attire (though the two could get away with not dressing up most of the time, unlike Tsuna).

Checking the time, Tsuna discovered that he arrived much earlier than expected and that it was another half an hour before the time he, Spanner, and Shoichi agreed upon. Thinking about what he might do in the free time he has, a voice interrupted his thoughts before he could reach a decision.

"Dame-Tsuna?!" an incredulous voice exclaimed.

Turning towards the owner of the voice, Tsuna saw a vaguely familiar guy standing before him, dressed in a white button-down shirt, black dress trousers, and black dress shoes. The young man appeared to be Tsuna's age, had dark hair, hazel eyes covered behind thick glasses, and sharp facial features.

The faint recollection combined with the demeaning nickname clued Tsuna that this was someone he went to school with, yet he could not remember the guy's name.

"...yes," started Tsuna hesitantly, "um…" the young Vongola flinched inwardly ' _If Reborn saw that I would be facing a full month of spartan training'_

Seeing the others pause the dark haired youth decided take control of the conversation, "It is you! I suppose you don't remember me," he continued without giving Tsuna a chance to answer, "Nakajima Daichi, we were in the same class in middle school."

Tsuna's eyes lit up in recognition, remembering the boy who received high scores on his physics and math tests and held a great interest in technology, who would occasionally participate in the verbal abuse his school-days bullies threw at him, but then again, most of the school did.

The brunet shook the offered hand, "Nakajima-san," he nodded politely, "how have you been?"

"Fine, I work as a technician here." he stated proudly, "How about you? What have you been up to lately?"

"Well," started the brunet carefully, not wanting to give away his true identity, "I work for my family."

"Oh?" wondered Nakajima, surprised, he had expected Dame-Tsuna to be jobless, but he guessed that his family must have decided to help him, "Doing what?"

"It's not really important." despite his calm exterior, Tsuna was freaking-out on the inside; he has no intention of revealing his true status, both illegal (head of _Vongola Famiglia_ ) and legal (head of Vongola corporations).

Tsuna glanced at the time, noting that only ten minutes have passed, and that Shoichi and Spanner won't be coming for another twenty minutes.

Nakajima took no notice of his companion's discomfort, "What are you doing in V.F.T?"

V.F.T stood for _Vongola Famiglia Technology_ , they were one of Vongola's many front companies, and this particular branch, along with other similar companies around the world, dealt with technological advancement and improvement, most of their products were for public consumption, though a large number of them were for mafia eyes and use only.

"Ah, I'm on vacation and decided to visit some old friends while I'm here." Tsuna decided to stick to half truths; while he was _technically_ on vacation to visit his mother and adoptive siblings, and while Shoichi and Spanner were long time friends of his, his meeting with them was more like an informal business meeting rather than a gathering of friends.

"Oh? You have friends that work here, who is it? Perhaps I know them."

The ringing of a cell phone saved Tsuna from answering, glancing at the caller ID he turned to Nakajima with an apologetic expression, "Sorry, but I have to take this." It was a call from Italy, making him worry that something had happened since it was very early in the morning it Italy.

"Pronto?" the Italian greeting fell effortlessly from his tongue, " _What is it?"_ concern and worry clearly seen in his eyes and heard in his tone, " _Ah, Giannini…"_ relief filled the young man's features after a short pause, " _no,"_ he laughed, " _I haven't talked to them yet, but I'll let them know that you wish to talk to them….okay I'll let them know. Ciao Giannini!"_

"Sorry about that," he turned to an incredulous Nakajima, who spluttered for a moment before finding his voice, "You… you speak _Italian?_ " he couldn't believe that the dame student who barely passed Japanese and couldn't form a sentence in English in middle school could speak Italian -of all languages- fluently.

"Yes." came the easy reply, Tsuna managed to hide his amusement at his former classmate's reaction.

They stared at each other in silence, but before either of them thought of something to say a voice interrupted them.

"Tsunayoshi!"

Turning the speaker, Tsuna was glad to see Shoichi heading towards him while dragging Spanner behind him.

"Yo!" greeted the blond.

"Irie-sama, Spanner-san." muttered Nakajima weakly, but none of the men payed attention to him.

Tsuna smiled at his friends, glad for their arrival even though he wasn't expecting it just yet, "Shoichi! Spanner! How'd you know I was here already? There's still some time till the hour we agreed on and I haven't told anyone that I've arrived." he stated good-naturedly.

"One of the receptionists recognized you when you got here and informed me immediately." Shoichi answered, "we would've been here sooner, but it took some time to pry Spanner from his toys."

Ignoring Spanner's indignant "Hey", Tsuna reassured them, "It's alright, I was catching up with an old school-mate while I waited." he gestured to Nakajima, who nearly fainted when the head of V.F.T Japanese branch and one of the most powerful and influential people in the company turned their attention to him (if only he knew who he was talking to earlier he would've had a heart attack), Tsuna continued speaking as if he hasn't noticed how pale the young man has become, "Well, since you're here now, shall we get started?"

"Yes, of course." Irie Shoichi led the other two to the lift, where they're probably head to his office.

"Giannini called, he wanted me to tell you…" Tsuna's voice drifted the farther away they walked, talking amiably to the two young men, leaving an awe struck employee staring at their retreating figures.

"Are you okay, Nakajima-san?" A young technician asked him worriedly.

"Y-yes." stammered the young man.

She regarded him suspiciously for a moment and decided it wasn't worth the hassle, "If you say so." she said as continued on her way.

' _What the hell?'_ Nakajima thought, ' _Since when was_ Dame _-Tsuna friends with two of the most powerful men in Japan?!'_

If he only knew that _Dame_ -Tsuna is probably the most powerful man in the world, both the legal and illegal parts of it.

 **another line break that I don't know how to do**

 **Welp... that happened.**

 **I had no idea how to continue and the ending felt kinda off...**

 **Oh well, live and learn!**

 **RogueMagic**


	2. Hamasake Asuka

**Okay, this idea wouldn't leave me until I've written it, so you get another chapter. Yay!**

 **I don't know when or even if I'll be adding more chapters to the story, but you're welcome to send in requests.**

 **Reviews are welcome.**

 ***I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, I only own the plot and my OC's***

 **Pretend this is a** **break-line**

Hamasake Asuka, Kimura Ayame, and Yamada Etsuko, dressed in casual clothes and comfortable shoes, walked through the streets of Rome, drinking in the sights the city had to offer. Being flight attendants was exhausting at times, but seeing all kinds of new and exotic places, meeting exciting people from all manners of life, it was truly and utterly intoxicating.

Asuka was a bit absent-minded when they weren't working during the last couple of weeks, often getting lost in thoughts and ends up with this far away look on her face, sometimes she got distracted when they _were working!_

The three women worked the same flights more often than not, that plus their similar personalities and being close in age helped the young women forge a good friendship. Asuka being the youngest of the three sometimes caused the older two to worry about her and be overprotective. Her recent change in mood was not lost on her friends, and since they were not able to get her to talk about it, they figured that a sightseeing trip in one of the most beautiful cities they've ever been to might help get whatever's bothering her out of her mind for a bit.

To their utmost relief, it seemed to be working; Asuka was laughing and enjoying herself, taking pictures and looking at the sights with childlike wonder.

Asuka knew what her friends were doing, so she tried her hardest to -at least for today- have fun and not think of the person who had occupied much of her thoughts during the last two weeks; Sawada Tsunayoshi.

It had started when she met her old friends from middle school on one of the rare occasions she was home in Namimori, they had been catching up with each others lives and talking about trivial things when the subject of their old classmates was somehow brought up. They spent some time trying to remember their old classmates' names and speculating on what they were doing now, and of course Gokudera and Yamamoto were brought up (being two of the most popular boys in their class) which led to the mention of Sawada, or as her friends called him Dame-Tsuna.

Asuka was reminded of how horrible their classmates, other students, and even the teachers had treated Sawada, and although she never participated in the bullying herself, she had not done much to stop it, and she felt bad about her actions in middle school.

She tried to defend Sawada when her friends started trashing him (you'd think that they've matured at least a bit since middle school), stating that if he was such a useless person then why would Gokudera and Yamamoto be friends with him, not to mention Sasagawa Kyoko and her brother, Chrome, that brown haired girl from Midori Middle, and even Hibari seemed to somehow respect him, plus a lot of weird and quite frankly strong and attractive people that they occasionally saw around Namimori seemed to have some sort of relation to Swada.

Needles to say that she had failed to defend her former classmate, and guilt has been eating away at her ever since.

She was laughing at something Ayame said when a man caught her attention. He didn't stand out in the crowd so it was weird that she noticed him, he was dressed in dark jeans and sneakers and jacket with the hood pulled up so that his face was hidden, his height was slightly above average and seemed to be lean, with his body leaning more towards an androgynous appearance.

The man was looking at the window of an antique shop, seemingly unaware of his surroundings, and Asuka didn't know why she was approaching this stranger when he could be very dangerous for all she knows, but her gut feeling was telling her that she had nothing to fear from him and that he'll help ease her guilt regarding one Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Etsuko and Ayame noticed her heading towards the man and were trying to stop her when she interrupted them.

"...Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Asuka asked hesitantly.

Surprisingly enough, the man turned to her and answered in perfect Japanese while removing his hood to reveal his soft brown eyes and gravity-defying hair, "Yes?".

The young Don had sensed someone approaching him, but his hyper-intuition wasn't acting up so he knew he had nothing to fear from the people approaching him, though he surprised to hear his name spoken by a clearly Japanese young woman.

Turning to look at the three women before him, he quickly noted that he wasn't familiar with the two tense women that were standing behind the speaker, but the black-haired blue-eyed girl that spoke to him jogged something in his memory.

"Hamasake-san… right?" Tsuna frowned, not entirely sure he remembered the gentle girls name correctly; she was one of the few people in their class that didn't participate in the bullying of Dame-Tsuna.

The girl's eyes lit up, clearly pleased that he remembers her name, "That's right, and please Sawada drop the honorific, we are former classmates after all."

Tsuna noticed that the two women relaxed a bit at Asuka's words, "Alright Hamasake," Tsuna smiled at the three women, making them blush, "who are your friends?" he gestured to the two people behinds her, "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all," Smiled Asuka, glad for the distraction while she gathered her courage to say what she wanted, "these are Kimura Ayame and Yamada Etsuko," she pointed to each woman as she said her name, "we work for the same air line and are good friends. Ayame, Etsuko, this is sawada Tsunayoshi, he's an old classmate of mine."

Tsuna smiled at Ayame and Etsuko, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's ours." Murmured the two shyly, still under the young Vongola's charm.

Asuka swallowed thickly, and said what she wanted for almost two weeks now, "I'm sorry."

"Eh?"

Three pairs of confused eyes turned to her, but she stared resolutely into Tsuna's, "For middle school," she clarified, "we were awful to you and you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry!" she said again while bowing deeply to him.

Tsuna smiled gently at her, "It's alright, Hamasake, it's all in the past now. And if I remember correctly you didn't participate in the bullying and there wasn't anything you could've done about it. But," he stated when he saw she was about to abject, "I accept your apology."

Asuka smiled, feeling relief wash over her, "I'm glad."

"Well, since you work for an air line I assume you won't be staying in Rome for long," he waited for the women to nod before continuing, "then allow me to invite you to a shop that sells the best gelatos in Rome; it's just around the corner."

The three accepted his offer, and he and Asuka struck up a conversation while they headed there.

"So, what type of work do you do exactly?"

"We're flight-attendants. What about you Sawada?"

"I inherited my grandfather's business." was the vague reply.

"Oh? And wha-"

"We're here!" Tsuna interrupted her.

He asked the girls what they wanted and then repeated it to the vendor in perfect Italian and paid for it.

He turned to the stunned women, "What?" he asked innocently.

"We were not aware that you spoke Italian." Said Etsuko.

"Ah, well, I should, I have lived here since graduating high school."

"You live in Rome?" Asked Ayame excitedly, hearts in her eyes, having loved the city since she was a child.

"No. I live in Italy, just not in Rome; I'm here on business," he looked around and lowered his voice like he was about to divulge some huge secret, "I'm supposed to be preparing for a meeting, but it's with someone that I've known since I was a kid, so I snuck away to see the city."

His companions laughed at his conspiratorial tone and childish actions, but before they could respond a relieved voice was heard.

"Capo!"

They turned to see several men in black suits before them.

Tsuna just smiled and replied (again in perfect Italian), " _So you finally found me! I was wondering how long that would take."_

"Capo…" the man tha seemed incharge sounded exasperated, " _you should at least take a guard with you, what if something happens?"_

" _I am perfectly capable of defending myself, Emilio."_ Tsuna chastised lightly.

He then turned to the three bewildered women, "It seems that I must depart now," he bowed slightly to them, "it was nice seeing you again, Hamasake, and it was lovely meeting you Kimura-san,Yamada-san. Addio."

He then turned and left with the men in black suits, who surrounded him like bodyguard-which they were- while the vendor approached the women and gave them their gelatos.

"Capo… that means boss, right?" asked Ayame.

"I think so." answered Etsuko.

Asuka stared at the direction that Sawada headed with his bodyguards and smirked, ' _If Sawada decides to come to our middle school reunion when we have it, then everyone who ever bullied him would probably collapse from shock!'_ she thought amusedly.

 **If anyone knows how to add a break-line please help meee! oh and break-line**

 **I don't know if I'll write a reunion fic, but if I do then these OC would probably make an appearance.**

 **RogueMagic**


	3. Kurosawa Hibiki

**Thank you WeirdWisher for telling me how to do the line-break thingy, let's hope it works!**

 **For those of you wondering about a reunion fic, it'll probably happen eventually; I just want to add a few more chapters to this so I can have a few OC's that have already met Tsuna before and know that he's someone important.**

 **As for timelines, the first two chapters happened sometime between 8 to 10 years later, this one happened 6 years later. From now on I'll add the estimated timeline for each chapter.**

 ***There may exist a parallel world where I own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. This, however, is not it.***

 **I think that's everything... On to the story!**

* * *

Kurosawa Hibiki sighed tiredly; working as a waiter in a restaurant in one of the most successful, fancy, and expensive hotels in Japan was hard, even if it was only part time and during vacations. Sure it was to help pay for his higher education but that didn't mean that he had to like it!

The hotel attracted rich and powerful people from all over the world, and the restaurant was famous for it's delicious cuisine, welcoming atmosphere, and excellent service.

One of the requirements for working there was being fluent in several languages; Hibiki was glad that his parents made him learn Spanish and French when he was younger (because two of his parents' relatives married men from those countries and wanted him to be able to interact with them easily), since it helped him get the job; which paid really well.

It was the start of spring break, meaning that schools had let out and many students were enjoying their freedom before the new school year begins.

It also means that many foreigners are coming to enjoy the Japanese spring, and that the hotel and restaurant were more crowded than usual.

Having so many people that were used to quick and excellent service meant extra staff working in order to keep up, extra staff working meant it was hard to move quickly while holding full trays without dropping something. So far that has not happened, until another waiter bumped into Hibiki, causing his hold on the carefully balanced (full and heavy) tray to waver.

He somehow managed to keep everything from spilling on the floor, or worst on a costumer, but the wine bottle he had tipped off the side and started falling.

Hibiki felt like he watching things happen in slow motion; the wine bottle was on a direct course to crashing on a customer's shoulder and he had no way to stop it.

Suddenly a hand appeared in his line of sight and deftly caught the bottle before any harm could occur.

"Thank you!" Hibiki gratefully exclaimed, looking at a familiar looking slim brunet man that caught the wine, momentary forgetting that the man probably didn't understand Japanese.

"It's alright," the young man replied in perfect, unaccented Japanese, but before he could say anything else a voice interrupted in Italian, sounding angry.

" _Watch where you're going idiota!"_ a black haired, olive-skinned middle-aged man, dressed in an expensive looking suit yelled at Hibiki, before noticing his puzzled expression and continuing in heavily accented English, " _Are you stupid? I expected better service from this place!"_

" _There's no need for such crude remarks, is there?"_ the brown haired man asked the other in perfect English, Hibiki couldn't help but notice that his suit was more expensive than the other man, and that he seemed more powerful despite being younger.

Apparently the olive-skinned man agreed, because he paled slightly when he looked at the other, who narrowed his eyes before continuing in Italian, " _Such actions are unbecoming Don Acerbi, these people are doing their best, and they are clearly tired and overworked."_ the man then smiled, but the dark aura he emitted didn't escape anyone. " _There was no harm done, so you're outburst wasn't necessary, right?"_ He said cheerfully in English, thought his voice managed to sound cold somehow.

Don Acerbo nodded, having recognised the ring the brown headed man was wearing, marking him as the young Vongola Decimo; he had heard of the young man's power and authority, and of how terrifying he was when angered. To put it simply he was afraid of Decimos' fury.

Hibiki noticed that some of the table's other occupants looked either scared of the young man or in awe of him, but the majority looked outraged at the way he had spoken to the older, and so did the men dressed in black suits that were near them who were moving towards the (seemingly clueless) brunet with tangible killing intent-probably his bodyguards.

Before the guards could reach the young Don, one of Acerbo's companions, a younger man who had fair skin and blonde hair, opened his mouth-most likely to yell at the youth, which made Acerbo turn to him in what looked like horror and whisper frantically in Italian, hoping that the other Don won't hear him. Whatever he said caused the angry men and women to look at unassuming man in fear.

The brunet obviously heard what the man said, as evident by his smirk as he turned to place the wine bottle that Hibiki nearly forgot about back on the tray.

Unbeknown to Hibiki, their small interaction had drawn the attention of many people, workers and guests alike, who all turned back to mind their own business as the brunet turned his gaze to the rest of the room. Another waiter that Hibiki recognised as Yamazaki Katsurou, that served mostly infuncional Italian customers, turned to the deceivingly _meek-looking_ guest with a stunned look on his face (he didn't hear what the man said to his companions, but he heard the brunet interaction with him and Hibiki-he didn't know the man spoke _Japanese_ ) and was about to direct him to his table, when the man interrupted him, while looking at Hibiki's name tag (that also displayed what languages he spoke), "Would it be possible for Kurosawa-san attend me and my guests tonight as well? one of my companions tonight is originally French and I know he would like it if he got to speak his mother tongue."

"Of course, sir!" Yamazaki hurriedly assured and quickly instructed Hibiki to deliver his load to it's destination and inform the manager that he will be assisting him, and then to head to one of the small private dining rooms.

Hibiki left to do as he was told, all the while trying to figure out why the guest looked familiar, a thought came to him but he immediately dismissed it-it couldn't be _him_ , a no-good like him wouldn't have made it this far, and not in such a short time. Right?

When he made it to the room Yamazaki told him to head to he found two scary-looking men wearing black suits guarding the room. The two gave him a quick glance before allowing him to enter the room.

There he found the young man sitting at a table set for four people waiting. Hibiki wondered who was brave enough to make such a powerful (having glimpsed a small amount of said power when he was talking to the other Don) individual waiting.

His questions were soon answered when another guard guided three _children_ to the room, and then standing guard near the window.

The three children-two European boys and a Chinese girl, one of the boys looked around fifteen, the other and the girl looked around eleven-smiled widely when they saw the young man, who returned their smiles with just as joyful before standing up to greet them, but he was interrupted as the three threw themselves on him, tackling him to the floor with a happy cry of "Tsuna-Nii".

Hibiki froze when he heard the name, Tsuna, he couldn't be _Dame_ -Tsuna, could he? All colour drained from his face when he remembered how he used to take his frustrations from school and his family on him.

Tsuna, having untangled himself from his siblings' grasp, and was now seated around the table with them, notices Hibiki going pale and smirked (Reborn was rubbing off on him), he recognised the other as one of his most hated and frequent former-bullies and wanted some revenge, ' _So Kurosawa finally realized who I am?'._

Tsuna decided to ignore him until he snaps out of his shock; after all what fun would it be if he confirmed his suspicion while the man was still in shock? (Reborn was _definitely_ rubbing off on him). So he turned his attention to his siblings; his revenge could wait for a bit.

"So, how was the school year? And how was graduation, Fuuta? Sorry I missed it."

Hibiki tried to gather his composure before the group was ready to order, and somehow managed it.

Tsuna, when he noticed that Hibiki was looking better, gestured to him to approach them, then gestured to the oldest of the children, Hibiki understood that he was the one he was asked here for. The three watched their older brother curiously, wondering what was planning; they did not fail to notice the hint of mischievousness in his eyes that made them slightly wary (he _did_ spend a lot of time with _Reborn_ when he was growing up).

Tsuna turned to Fuuta, "I know you don't get to speak French often, so I asked for a waiter that understood it so you could talk in your native language." Fuuta's eyes lit up when he heard that, looking eager to once again speak in his native tongue. "Kurosawa-san, you'll be serving Fuuta tonight." the Don said to his former-bully.

"Yes, sir…" Hibiki trailed off.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, don't you remember?"

"Ehh?" ' _It couldn't be…'_

"My name," Tsuna said innocently, "is Sawada Tsunayoshi, we went to junior high together, we were in the same class. Don't you remember me Kurosawa-san? Perhaps you remember me better as _Dame-Tsuna_?"

It was clear to the three Vongola children that their brother was enjoying Hibiki's discomfort and fear. They sweat-dropped as they noticed the sadistic gleam in his eyes.

They blamed Reborn.

* * *

 **The ending feels rushed, but I didn't know how to continue. Overall, this is not my favorite chapter, I feel like it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.**  
 ** _Acerbi_** **: From Italian** ** _acerbo_** **meaning "bitter, harsh, severe". At least according to a website called Behind the Name.**

 **I sorta have an idea for next chapter, and so far it might involve Xanxus, but beyond that I have nothing, so if you want me to include a specific character, or have an idea that you want to see happen in the story, let me know.**

 **Until next time.**

 **RogueMagic**


	4. Takeda Ichirou

**I'm back! Sorry for taking so long.**

 **I must have written and rewritten this chapter half a dozen times and I'm still not entirely satisfied with it (Xanxus was hard to write), but I'll probably never will, so I need to post it and start working on the next one.**

 **I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but I always had this headcanon that Fuuta was either French, or his family moved from France to Italy but they still spoke french in home, so that was his native language (** _ **Le Petit Prince Fuuta,**_ **anyone?).**

 **Also, Reborn was supposed to appear but he just wouldn't cooperate!**

 **Timeline: when Tsuna was in first year in highschool (1.5-2 years later)**

 **Normal = Italian**

 _ **Italics = japanese**_

 **Warning, Xanxus and slight OOC.**

 ***Last I checked, I did not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.***

* * *

Ichirou Takeda, a young, dark haired, brown eyed, Japanese boy in his first year of highschool was walking lesourlesly in the early-afternoon winter streets of Sicily, Italy. His father used to work for one of the Vongola's companies in Japan in the marketing department, but he got a promotion nearly six months ago, and now he is a marketing manager in one of the company's main branches in Sicily. His parents had little to no trouble with the move to Italy, what with both of them being fluent in Italian since they were in college, and his mother, being a vet, found a job close to their new home easily.

Ichirou was the only one who had to deal with difficulties from the move; though he had been studying Italian for most of his life (on his father's insistence), he sometimes had trouble with the language. In addition to that, he had to leave his friends behind (something he was still a little sour about), and though he could talk to them frequently and had always managed to gain friends quickly, going through the hassle of being the new kid and not knowing _anyone_ was annoying and he had to suffer for the first few weeks after moving.

But things had gotten better after he had managed to make friends with some of the kids he had classes with. The youth was on his way to meet them to hang out and kill time since it was winter break, _finally_. Them meant Agapito and Agata Bellini, who did not look alike despite being twins, Agapito had light blond hair and green eyes and his skin was tanned, while his older sister (by a full seven minutes and twenty-two seconds) had dark brown hair and blue eyes and pale skin, Ciro De Rege, whose naturally light brown hair was streaked with different colours periodically (right now it was neon green) and bright hazel eyes alight with mischievousness, and lastly Mariano Fabbri, an olive skinned youth with dark hair and eyes.

Ichirou saw his friends when he entered the Plaza (thanks to Ciro's hair), and called out to them. The teenagers turned from a poster of an upcoming movie they were looking at to their friend, moving to meet him half-way.

Once they had exchanged greetings, the teens started walking leisurely in the Plaza, taking in the decorations for the holiday season, the colourful shop fronts, and the sight of people enjoying themselves in the cold winter afternoon. They had no real plans for the day; they just wanted a change in scenery and pace before they had to leave to visit different relatives for the holidays.

Ichirou was telling his friends that his parents were planning on returning to Japan to visit their family and wouldn't return until after new-years when something caught his attention, making him pause mid-sentence in shock. Or rather, someone. " _It can't be."_ He whispered softly.

"Ichirou?" Inquired Agata worriedly after sharing a concerned look with her brother and their friends, turning to look at what caught the Japanese boy's' attention. Except they didn't see what might have caused this; the teenager was looking at a veranda of a small coffee shop, it was nearly deserted, with only a brown-haired teenager that looked about their age sitting on one of the tables with a few older men in dark suits occupying some of the surrounding tables. The men had a dangerous aura surrounding them and the Italians couldn't see a way that their Japanese friend could have any relation to them. Plus he seemed to have been gazing at the teenager.

"Ichirou, is something wrong?" The only female in the group tried again, this time with more success.

"Sorry, what?"

"Are you okay?" Started Mariano, "You spaced-out for a bit."

"I'm fine; just surprised to see him," He gestured to the teenager sitting in the coffee shop, "We went to the same middle school, and were in the same class last year."

"Oh, so he was a friend of yours?" Agapito was always hopeful and happy; he reminded Ichirou of Yamamoto Takeshi, a former classmate and a star baseball player, who had a similar easy-going attitude and mannerism.

" _Dame-Tsuna_?" The boy snorted, "No way!" He then noticed that his friends were looking at him weirdly, "What?"

"Dame-Tsuna…" Ciro tested the unfamiliar words, he felt awkward saying them, "What does that mean?"

"Oh, dame can mean many things in Japanese, but in this case it means useless, and the guy's name is Tsunaki or something. He's had the nickname since kindergarten! Everyone calls him Useless-Tsuna back home because he's useless in everything; school, studying, sports, having a social life, he's bad at everything!"

"Is he really that helpless?" Asked Agata.

"Worse," Ichirou stated, "But this might be fun." He continued while heading towards the brunet with a smirk on his face.

" _Oy, Dame-Tsuna!"_

* * *

Tsuna sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and it was barely noon, Xanxus was late (big surprise there). Whose bright idea was it for the two them to spend some _quality time_ together (since apparently Xanxus beating him within an inch of his life under the guise of training didn't count)? Oh right, it was Nono; who wanted his heir and adopted son to get along.

It's not that they didn't get along. Quite the contrary, they got along just fine, much to everyone's surprise.

Xanxus, though he would never admit it, had some grudging respect for Tsuna since he beat him during the rings battle. And sometime during Tsuna's last year of middle school the two bosses had reached an understanding and formed a surprising friendship thanks to an incident that neither of them would speak of again. Shortly after that the younger began to refer to the older as _Zio_ , after it slipped once when they were talking and Xanxus insisted that he keep calling him that, and when a guy that scary tells you to call him uncle you do it even if you didn't feel like it; but Tsuna was no longer afraid of the Varia boss, and since he saw Timoteo as a grandfather figure it made sense that he would see Xanxus as an uncle.

The problem wasn't that they didn't get along; it's that they prefered to do it on their own terms. Less chance of property damage and bodily harm that way.

The young Don-to-be entertained himself by watching the people in the Plaza. He was sitting in the veranda of a coffee shop owned by a allied family along with several of Nono's men that were sent there to protect him, and more men were stationed around the Plaza out of sight.

His selected bodyguards (or babysitters, as he referred to them privately) for this outing did not understand Japanese, as per Reborn's insistence, another way to make his student practice his Italian. Tsuna preferred this method to being shot.

Although it was not needed since the boy had taking to the language surprisingly quickly.

The teenager was about to turn to talk with the closest mafioso when a voice ran out in the Plaza.

" _Oy, Dame-Tsuna!"_

Tsuna blinked and thanked his lucky stars that the mafiosi that accompanied him _didn't_ understand Japanese before turning to the owner of the voice.

He recognized the teenager heading towards him as Takeda Ichirou, a former classmate and bully, and dimly remembered that the boy had moved to Italy after finishing middle school. He did not, however, recognize the group of teenagers that were trailing behind the boy uncertainly. But, since his Intuition did not warn him about them he discreetly gestured to his tense protectors to stand down.

" _Takeda-san_." The brunette acknowledge.

" _So it is you!_ " Ichirou said with a smirk; thinking that he was going to enjoy humiliating the other boy in front of an audience.

He had certainly missed bullying the brunette.

" _What are you doing in Italy, Dame-Tsuna?_ " Though the black-clad men and Italian teenagers did not understand what was said, it was hard to mess the impudence in his tone, making the men bristle in anger.

Yet they did not dare make a move against a _civilian boy_ , albite a rude one. The young heir would not be pleased with that.

" _I don't see how that is any of your business._ " Tsuna's tone was icy; he had suffered at Takeda's hands since they were kids, the other boy believing himself superior than most because his father worked for Vongola Corporations. But the young Vongola was not taking his abuse, not while they were in _Italy,_ and especially in _sicily_ ; the island, _whole country_ even, was practically owned by the Vongola Famiglia, and _he_ was _Vongola Tenth._ He would not deal with this in his own turf.

" _What was that you insolent bastard?!_ "

Tsuna felt slight anger at the Japanese boy's words, ' _I was minding my own business and he insults me and_ I'm _the insolent one?'_ He thought incredulously. However, before he could he could voice his thoughts someone interrupted.

" _There you are Trash!_ " Xanxus appeared from behind Tsuna, " _What's going on here?_ "

Takeda and the youths that were with him paled at the sight of the Varia Boss, while the addressed boy turned to him, praying that the older man had not heard Takeda insulting Tsuna; the Varia heads had become protective of the young Boss, especially the Ninth's adopted son.

When they weren't attempting to kill him themselves, that is.

One look at Xanxus' eyes showed that he has. The man was enraged, more than he usually was at the prospect of being forced to spend time with Tsuna.

Tsuna hoped to distract the older man from possibly maiming or killing Takeda by getting Xanxus to focus his irritation on him instead. He inwardly winced at the thought, but he could handle his uncle's anger and attacks, a normal civilian boy couldn't.

"Zio." Vongola Decimo greeted softly so only Xanxus would hear, allowing his irritation at the man to show in his voice, " _You're late._ "

The youth noted in dismay that he did not succeed.

Takeda, on the other hand, thought the way the scarred man addressed Tsuna meant that he could continue insulting him (he did not know that when coming from Xanxus and directed at Tsuna, _Trash_ and other similar insults were a form of endearment).

So, despite his fear, the boy smirked, " _Trash? That's a fitting title Dame-Tsuna, since you'll probably end up either picking up trash or living in it._ " He sneered at the horrified teenager; Xanxus was going to kill him then Tsuna.

Xanxus' eyes darkened, and he glared at Takeda, looking like he was about to murder him. The mafiosi surrounding them looked ready to join him if he did.

"Zio! No, Don't!" Tsuna was trying not to panic, thinking of a way to end this, preferably without anyone getting _too_ hurt (he had giving up on no damage occurring at all).

Said man ignored the brunette, "Only I get to call the Trash 'Trash', got that you impudent runt?"

The group of teenagers paled in fear at the venom in the older man's voice, while the men around them seethed, now understanding at least a bit of the interaction.

Tsuna was mildly impressed with how much self restraint Xanxus was showing; he usually would've had his guns out at this point. The man was _too_ trigger happy, like most of Tsuna's friends and family (still, he loved them, craziness violence and all).

But, Tsuna's rotten luck chose that moment to show up and ruin his day even more, since Xanxus _did_ draw his guns when Takeda didn't answer him.

"I said, did you get that?" He hissed, all the while glaring at the terrified teenagers and pointing his weapons at them.

The boys and girl were quick to nod their heads, scared out of their minds.

Tsuna dimly noted that they looked at the brink of wetting themselves as he stood between them and his uncle.

"And I said, _DON'T!_ " The Don-to-be commanded calmly, in what his Guardians referred to as his 'boss voice'.

' _Is he crazy?'_ The Italian kids thought, ' _He's going to die!'_

Takeda, on the other hand, had his mouth hanging open at the sight of _Dame-_ Tsuna actually standing up to someone _and_ in _Italian_.

Xanxus, however, was _not_ impressed.

"Get out of the way, Trash."

"No!"

The two Sky wielders stood their ground against each other, neither one willing to back down.

Tsuna was the first to break the staring contest, turning his head to look at the teenagers behind him, "Leave." He ordered them coolly.

Takeda looked like he wanted to object being ordered around by _Dame-Tsuna_ , but his friends didn't need to be told twice; so Ciro and Mariano each took hold hold of one of his arms, cutting off what he was about to say, and quickly left led by the twins (that were clutching each other in fear).

Tsuna turned back to his uncle to find that his temper had gotten worse.

"Why did you do that, Scum?"

The boy resisted the urge to sigh, "They are _civilians._ " He stressed the last word.

Glancing around the Plaza, the teen noted that they had attracted a crowd that he hadn't noticed while he was trying to stop Xanxus from murdering Takeda and his friends. That meant that he had to get Xanxus out of there. Fast.

"Let's get this day over with," Tsuna said as he started walking, "You can yell at me after."

That seemed to slightly appease him, "Why didn't you talk back when he insulted you, Trash?"

"You didn't give me a chance to do that." Tsuna muttered under his breath as they walked out of the Plaza; he knew that the lecture he would get from Xanxus now is nothing compared to what he was in for when they were away from prying eyes and out of hearing range, not to mention what Reborn and Nono would do.

The brunette felt a headache coming on, he didn't need his intuition to know that this was going to be a long day.

* * *

In some ally in Sicily stood five scared, panting teenagers.

"That man was terrifying!" Said the only girl in the group in a weak voice.

"Y-yeah." Her brother agreed shakily.

"What was that about that Tsuna being useless, Ichirou?" The boy with green highlights in his brown hair asked sarcastically.

But Ichirou didn't answer him, still too shaken up from what happened now that had had time to process it and reliese how close he was to death a few minutes ago.

The Japanese boy felt a shiver down his spine, he was going to be having nightmares about this for a while.

They were all probably scarred for life.

* * *

 **I have this headcanon that Tsuna and Xanxus end up having an uncle/nephew relationship after they work out some of their issues, since Tsuna sees Timoteo as a grandfather.**

 **I don't know when I'll have the next chapter ready since I'm starting midterms next week, but I'll to post it soon.**

 **The next chapter would have either Lambo or Ryohei.**

 **What do you guys think about me including characters that are LGBT+ in my writing?**

 **RogueMagic**


	5. Yukimura Arata

**I am so, so sorry that this has taken so long; exams suck, and they slowly suck the life out of you.**

 **Timeline: 7.5-8 years later**

 ***Oh, I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, just wish that I did***

* * *

A family of four sat around the dinner table, quietly enjoying their meal, with occasional small talk shared between them.

The family; composed of a loving mother, a 17 year old boy, and a 13 year old boy and girl.

"Is something wrong, Maman? Fuuta asked his adoptive mother worriedly; she had been quieter than usual, and a frown marring her usually smiling face.

"It's nothing, Fuuta-kun." She smiled kindly.

"Are you sure, Maman?" I-Pin asked shyly.

Fuuta's remark had caused the younger two to worry as well.

"It's just…" Nana hesitated, "It's I-Pin-chan's and Lambo-kun's parent participation day next week, and since they're in different classes this year I can only go to one of them."

"Oh, that." Lambo said in a bored voice, earning a glare from I-Pin that turned into a look of surprise and appreciation when he continued, "Just go to I-Pin's."

Lambo knew how much hard work I-Pin put into her school work to make Maman proud, and how much it would mean to his sister figure to have her there on parents' day.

Plus, his teacher this year liked to make fun of Tsuna, causing Lambo to get into trouble with him often, and he didn't want his mother to be witness to either of those things.

"Are you sure, Lambo-kun?" Nana was still worried, she loved her kids equally and didn't like showing favouritism.

Lambo gave a meaningful glance to his siblings, hoping that they'd help him out, "I'm positive Maman."

Lambo has often complained to his siblings about his teacher, Yukimura Arata, a tall, blond man, with narrow, cold blue eyes. He was in Tsuna's class in his second and last year of junior-high, and often assaulted the other teen verbally.

Fuuta and I-Pin shared a look, understanding Lambo's reasoning, before the older came to his younger brother's aid, "Well, that settles it Maman!" he said cheerfully, "Plus you can go to Lambo's parents' day next year if they don't end-up in the same class again."

There was no way any of them would disappoint Maman, or allow her to hear something bad being said about Tsuna.

"Alright." Nana agreed hesitantly, a plan forming in her head, "They're just like Tsu-kun," she murmured softly, causing the three to perk up, "Who want's seconds?" She added cheerfully.

"Me!" Three voices said simultaneously.

She just hoped that her son could make it with just a week's notice, he was a busy man after all.

* * *

Parents' Participation Day

"Hey, Bovino-kun!" One of Lambo's classmates greeted, waking Lambo from his daydreaming.

Lambo looked up to see Shimizu Ryou, a lively boy with dark brown hair and bright hazel eyes, and one of the few people in school he considered a friend.

"Hey Shimizu-kun." Lambo replied to the cheery boy.

"Who are you bringing to parent's day?"

"No-one."

"Eeh?! What do you mean 'no-one'?"

"Maman's going to my sister's." Lambo explained, though that didn't help much.

"Isn't there anyone else that can make it?" Ryou seemed down about his friend's situation.

"Not really." Lambo thought of his birth family and Tsuna-Nii; the former he didn't want in his life, and the latter was busy and couldn't make it.

Not that Lambo told him about the event anyway, he knew how much stress his older brother was under.

"That's too bad." Ryou sounded sad that the young Italian has no-one today.

Lambo shrugged as parents and guardians started coming into the classroom and greeting the teacher before going into the back of the room.

Ryou cast one last concerned look to his friend before making his way to his own seat.

The young Lightning turned to stare out the window, not interested in the happenings around him. Until several gasps were heard around the room.

He turned to see what had caused the commotion and followed everyone's gaze to the door, where he found one Hibari Kyoya and one Sawada Tsunayoshi standing in their high-class, expensive suits and powerful, dangerous air surrounding them.

Lambo wasn't sure which of the two caused the outcry. Probably both, since people's faces showed a mix of fear (Hibari) and curiosity (Tsuna).

Hibari scanned the room before saying something quietly to Tsuna, who nodded once in acknowledgment. Hibari then nodded to Lambo in recognition before leaving the room.

Once the young man has left everyone seemed to sigh in relief.

"Tsuna-Nii," Lambo muttered softly, shocked at the sudden appearance.

His brother's gaze landed on him, and he smiled gently, Lambo returned the smile before asking in Italian (this wasn't a conversation for others to hear), " _I thought you were in Italia, what are you doing here?_ " Not that he wasn't happy about it.

" _Ow, aren't you happy to see me, Lambo?_ " Tsuna faked a hurt expression before smiling again, " _Mum called me last week, said that you and I-Pin had parent's participation day and that she could only go to one of them, so she asked me to come to yours._ "

" _What about your work? And I'm surprised that Reborn let you skip paperwork for this!_ "

Tsuna mentally shuddered at the reminder of the accursed paperwork waiting for him in Italy, " _Family comes first Bambino, you know that._ "

"Um, excuse me." Lambo's teacher said nervously, since he was intimidated by Tsuna's aura and demeanor.

"Yes?" Tsuna smiled pleasantly, despite recognizing the man as Yukimura Arata, one his most… _verbal_ bullies.

"Are you a relative of Bovino-kun?" Arata asked.

"Yes, I'm his older brother."

"I see," The man still looked uncomfortable, "Well then, please join the rest of the family members." He gestured to the back of the classroom.

Tsuna nodded to him, and with last smile to Lambo, headed to where the students' family members were gathered.

Lambo felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Ryou (who was seated behind him) giving him a puzzled look, "I thought you said that no-one from your family could make it." He whispered.

"My brother works in Italy, I didn't tell him about today because he's usually super busy, but apparently Maman called him and asked him to come." Lambo whispered back, unable to keep the smile off his face.

Ryou smiled back at his friend, glad that he has someone come today.

"Bovino-kun, Shimizu-kun, pay attention!" Arata yelled.

"Yes, sensei!" Ryou answered, while Lambo just scowled at him.

Arata started with his lesson, and everything seemed to go smoothly at first, until he snapped at Lambo for spacing out.

"Bovino-kun!" Arata tried to be threatening, but Lambo has seen much worse (he had grown up in the _mafia_ , not to mention Hibari and Mukuro), "You should pay more attention in class." The teacher then smirked, "Or do you want to end up like Dame-Tsuna."

What he said caused most the occupants of the room to laugh, the adults remembering the clumsy kid, and the students having heard about the no-good student from their older relatives and their teacher, that loved to mock the brunette any time he could.

Ryou stared at the black-haired teen in worry; insulting Tsuna was a surefire way to antagonize and anger him.

Tsuna also looked at his brother, concerned at the anger he felt rolling in waves off of his young Lightning.

Lambo slammed his hand on the table as he stood up, "Don't insult Tsuna-Nii!"

The blond froze under the youth's glare, remembering another pair of green eyes that used to glare at him whenever he insulted Tsuna. But he managed to shake himself out of it quickly, "No wonder you get into trouble often, Bovino-kun, with that man as a rule model, it's little surprise that you'd turn up useless as well."

Arata smirked as several people laughed.

"Why you-"

Lambo cut himself off when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder comfortingly. He turned to see Tsuna smile at him reassuringly, and felt the familiar Sky flame gently reach for his own. All this helped him relax slightly.

" _It's okay Bambino, I'll handle this._ "

Lambo hesitated for a second before nodding; he trusted his Sky.

Tsuna stared at Arata, smiling coldly at the other and bringing out a bit of his 'boss aura'. Lambo smirked, ' _This should be fun.'_

"A-ah, Bovino-san, th-thank you for handling your brother." Arata stuttered.

"Bovino?" Tsuna enjoyed seeing Arata sweat, he had no problem with dealing with insults directed at his person, but he drew the line at his family getting mentioned, "I'm afraid you're wrong Yukimura-san, on both assumptions."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Arata gulped nervously.

"Some time has past since we last met, so allow me to reintroduce myself," Tsuna gave a polite bow, but it was clear to anyone watching that he was the one in charge, "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I believe you've been referring to me as 'Dame-Tsuna'."

The people that were making fun of Tsuna just moments before were now frozen in shock, and those that did not believe the brunette were too afraid of him to question him.

Lambo was smirking at the scared teacher, Ryou was staring at Tsuna in awe, and the young Don was staring emotionlessly at the man that insulted him at every chance he got when they were younger, and apparently that habit persisted into adulthood.

"Now, you could believe or not, that's is entirely up to you, but I assure that what I said is the truth." Tsuna's tone was cold, "But know this Yukimura-san; I have tolerated you insulting me since we were children, but I would not stand here and watch you insult and belittle my brother."

Tsuna glanced at Lambo disapprovingly, "Although it is true that Lambo was at fault for not paying attention," Said boy flushed slightly at the silent reprimand, "But you are at a greater fault, and the way you handled this was quite lacking; not only are you an adult and he a child, you are also his teacher. I suggest you start acting like it."

Arata was red with embarrassment; he had nothing to say to the other that could in anyway justify his action, simply because there wasn't any.

"Now," Tsuna continued in a scarily cheery voice, "we came here to see how you teach our relatives, how about we get back to that?"

Albeit it was phrased like a question, it was obvious that it was a command, one that Arata was quick to comply.

" _You're really scary when you want to be, Tsuna-Nii._ "

Tsuna snorted lightly, ruffling Lambo's hair before he made his way to the back of the classroom again, " _You can blame that on Reborn._ "

Lambo felt a light tab on his shoulder, and turned to see an amazed Ryou.

"Your brother is really cool, Bovino-kun!" He whispered to the other.

Lambo just smiled before turning back to face the teacher (he didn't want to be reprimanded by Tsuna for not paying attention _again_ ).

The rest of the class went on with Arata sending uneasy glances at Tsuna, along with the majority of the parents and students.

The man would never dare to insult Tsuna again.

* * *

 **I'll try to be faster with the next chapter, but no promises.**

 **RogueMagic**


	6. Sasake Ren

**First off, I am so, so sorry that this has taking as it has.**

 **This takes place about 8 years later, and the setting is in Italy.**

 **See the end for more notes.**

* * *

Tsuna wondered again why he was here: in a huge, sweaty arena, surrounded by a bunch of strangers with Vongola guards in various disguises hidden around, when he could've been anywhere else.

"Isn't this EXTREMELY great, Sawada?"

Oh right, that's why.

Tsuna turned to his excited Sun Guardian, a soft smile on his lips, "It is, Onii-san."

Tsuna had promised Ryohei that he would attend his boxing matches when he had the chance. The Extreme Sun gave up boxing to be able to complete his duties as Tsuna's Guardian properly, but he would occasionally take part in amature and/or unofficial matches (and the occasional match with Lussuria and other mafiosi). Tsuna still felt guilty about the sacrifices his Guardians had done for him, especially Ryohei and Takeshi, who had promising futures in sport. So he would attend whatever match he could; it's the least he could do for his Family.

The announcer's voice boomed from the speakers, asking for all the competitors to head backstage and for the audience to go to the areas designed for watching the match.

"Well, I'll see ya later Sawada," Ryohei exclaimed with his fist in the air, "Be sure to EXTREMELY cheer me on!"

"I will, good luck Onii-san!"

Ryohei left with one last screamed 'EXTREME'.

Tsuna laughed at his Guardian's antiks, heading to a private box that was guarded by Vongola guards (his Family wouldn't let him come otherwise).

Before he could take more than a few steps, a timid, soft voice stopped him, "Sawada… Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna turned to the speaker, from the corner of his eye he notices his assigned guards tensing and he discreetly motioned for them to stay put; his Intuition said that this person meant no harm.

"Yes?" The young Don took in the sight of the person standing before him; he was unsure of the others gender, for they had both feminine and masculine features. They were shorter than Tsuna (though not by much), had shoulder length black hair, slightly familiar light hazel eyes that were beautifully highlighted by eyeshadow, high cheekbones, square jaw, soft lips painted a light red. The ravenette wore a short sleeved black flowery dress that stopped at their knees, with matching black sandals, and a black choker necklace.

All in all, they had a soft mysterious beauty to them.

The other hesitated, before talking in a small and guilty voice, "I don't know if you remember me, we were in the same class in middle school…"

They closed their mouth, unsure of how to continue, and Tsuna wasn't sure if it was because of the guilt he heard in their tone, or simply because they didn't know how to. So he decided to help them.

"Afraid not, um..?"

"Ren, Sasaki Ren." They looked uncomfortable, and the way they said the name like it caused them physical pain gave Tsuna pause.

He remembered Sasaki Ren, who was a lean boy with messy black hair and sad hazel eyes, who sometimes threw jabs at Tsuna regarding his somewhat androgynous looks.

Tsuna also remembers how guilty and frustrated his classmate looked afterwards.

"Oh Sasaki-san," Tsuna didn't miss the small flinch at the name, "I didn't recognise you. How've-" The brunet was cut off by the announcer once again requesting the audience to take their seats.

One of his guards, Davide Tivoli, he noted absently, approached them, " _Decimo._ " he said politely, and soft enough that Sasaki didn't hear, " _We should be heading to your box, sir._ "

" _Yes, indeed._ " Tsuna murmured back, then he turned back to Sasaki, "Would you like to join me in watching the match?"

" _Capo…_ " The guard muttered, exasperated. And no wonder, since Tsuna was making it harder to protect him, what with inviting a _stranger_ to watch the match with him.

" _It's alright, Davide._ " The young don laughed, then turned to Sasaki, effortlessly switching back to Japanese, "So, how about it Sasaki-san?"

The other (Tsuna wasn't sure of their prefered form of address, he would have to ask) seemed shocked at the invite, and uncertain of how to reply, "Um, I don-I'm not… err, I don't want to intrude, Sawada-san. P-plus, I need to get going…"

"Oh, is someone waiting for you?"

"N-no, but-!"

"It should be no problem then, I would really like it if you accompany me, I'd much prefer to not watch alone."

Ren found it hard to refuse when confronted with Tsuna's radiant smile, "... alright then."

"Great!" Was Tsuna's enthusiastic reply, "This way."

He led a bemused Ren and a resigned Davide to the private box reserved for him. Ren followed Tsuna inside, while Davide remained outside, standing guard at the door.

"So," Ren started after they sat down, attempting to break the somewhat awkward silence, "Was that Sasagawa-senpai you were talking to earlier?"

"Yes; I promised that I would attend his matches when I can." He smiled brightly, "What about you Sasaki-" Tsuna cut himself again when he noticed them flinch again.

Frowning slightly, the young Don asked his companion softly, "Would you like me to address you by your given name? You seem uncomfortable whenever I call you Sasaki." He added the last part when he saw Ren's startled look.

Said youth smiled gratefully at him, "I'd appreciate that, Sawada-san."

"Well, if I'm going to do that, I want to call me Tsuna in return."

"Very well, Tsuna-san," Ren hesitated slightly before adding guiltily, "I'd like to apologize; for middle-school, I took my anger and frustration on you."

They looked at the arena, the first match starting.

"I had figured as much. Because you're transgender."

The ravenette turned a startled gaze at Tsuna, but he was watching the match.

"How-?"

"It was not that hard to guess." He offered no further explanation, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I… I don't know," Ren murmured softly; there was something inviting about Tsuna, something that they had first glimpsed in middle-school.

"We're going to be here for a while, so just know the offer stands if you change your mind." The Sky smiled warmly at the other.

They both turned back to the arena in companionable silence.

"My parents disowned me when I came out as genderfluid."

Tsuna said nothing, allowing the other time to gather their thoughts, he noticed the tears in their eyes, and the trembling of their hands.

"Things were already tense between us, because of this boy I met and started dating during my last year in highschool -he's competing today, that's why I'm here- and I… when I heard Sasagawa-senpai call you Sawada, I couldn't believe that you were really the same Sawada I've known in middle-school."

"Yes, I suppose I look different from back then."

Ren laughed, "That's not it; we've all changed since middleschool, me more than anyone. No, I just didn't expect to meet anyone I knew here,that's all."

"Ah."

"So," Ren wanted to keep the conversation going, "You seem to be doing well; that expensive suit, a private box, and that man that accompanied us here is your bodyguard, I'm guessing. You must be someone powerful and important."

"Ahh, well…" Tsuna scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I inherited my grandfather's business, it's all part of the job description. What about you?"

"Looks like we headed into somewhat similar fields; I just graduated from the University of Tokyo; business and management."

"Oh? Where do you work, if you don't mind me asking? I would hope not with a rival of mine."

Ren flushed at that, "Uh… no I don't mind. It's just, I-I…" They stammered uncomfortably, "I couldn't get a job back home; people somehow always found out about my gender or partner, and let's just say the prejudice against people like me prevented me from getting employed."

Tsuna frowned at that; it's not like he was unaware of the difficulties and obstacles the LGBT community had to face (he'd witnessed first hand with the way Lussuria and others were treated sometimes), but that didn't mean he had to like or accept it.

Ren, who had been watching the current match too keenly and rigidly for it to be natural, was unaware of Tsuna's dark expression and thoughts, continued talking, "I've been working in cafés, mostly. But Nico -my boyfriend- got transferred here recently and I'm hoping that I have a better chance getting a job here."

The raven head cut off when they realised they were rambling, "Sorry," They mumbled after a brief pause, "I'm rambling, it's a bad habit I'm trying to quit."

"No need to apologise, you have every right to be upset with the way you were treated and to talk about it freely." Tsuna gave his companion a gentle smile. "I may not have experienced similar prejudice, but I have seen directed towards people that are dear to me."

"Oh."

The silence that followed was comfortable, as they directed their attention back to the match currently playing. Yet Tsuna's mind was split between said match and the thoughts generated from his desire to help his former classmate.

Ren had had a hard time; growing up in a society, a world, that condemned anything that was different, that thought their very existence was an abomination that needed to be fixed or destroyed. Tsuna had his fair share of ridicule and hatred directed towards him, yet it was not the same; Tsuna had worn his differences for everyone to see, had his friend and his family to pick him up when he falls and ease his burden when it becomes to much to bear, to always remind him that he is wanted and loved no matter what.

Ren on the other hand, had no-one, forced to live in secret for fear of what would happen if the wrong person were to find out; their so-called 'friends' always the first to make fun of and show disgust and hatred towards the community that they were a part of, their family quick to disown the child that did not live up to their ideals and fixed roles.

Tsuna wished to help, in any way that he could, yet he did not want Ren to get tangled up in the dark world he lived in. He remembers a Sasaki Ren that would sometimes stay late after class and football practice to help whoever was on cleaning duty, a boy who would always have a smile on his face when he picked his little sister, always happy to see her and willing to do anything for her.

Tsuna felt a bang of sadness when he realized that Ren probably had little to no contact with her since they were in their last year in highschool, nearly five years ago…

Tsuna can't imagine going a week without talking to his mother and sibling at least two or three times.

Tsuna's resolve was set, a plan forming in the back of his head as the two of them discussed the matches and made small talk for the rest of the competition.

* * *

After the winner was announced - on overwhelming victory by Ryohei Sasagawa, Tsuna can't say he was surprised- the young Don and his former classmate made their way towards where the contestants were gathered, offering congratulations on winnings and condolences for loses. They were followed by a still a little disgruntled Davide (Tsuna vowed to not sneak away or do something reckless the next time it was his turn to guard Tsuna, as an apology for worrying the man today).

Tsuna grinned when he saw Ryohei complementing the others on their techniques and abilities, telling them he looks forward to sparring with them again. He then noticed the man Ren signaled as their boyfriend; a tall, well-built, blond man with tanned skin. He had thought the man looked familiar when he saw him compete, but realized now that he was seeing up close that he did know him, or rather of him.

Nico Fiore, an American national with Italian heritage who moved to Japan with his mother when he was eighteen, graduated Tokyo University early with flying colours, majoring in programming and computer science, worked in a branch of one of Vongola's companies in Tokyo as a junior programmer until he somehow caught Shoichi's attention and he recommended him for a job in the main branch of their company in Sicily.

Tsuna smirked, ' _This might prove to be interesting.'_

"Ren-san," Tsuna said after he caught Ryohei's eye and saw him moving towards them, "It's been a pleasure meeting you again."

He paused for a moment, the extended a white business card with nothing but a phone number written on it. Ren hesitantly took the card, not sure what to do with it, "Likewise, Tsuna-san."

"If you ever need help with finding a job, give me a call." He gestured to the card.

The ravenette looked started, "I couldn't possibly-!"

They were cut off by Tsuna, "I insist," He said firmly, "I would not just give you a job - I know better than that, but I could direct you to people who would not care about your gender identity or sexual orientation, only about your skill and how well you'll fit the job. Give me a call if you should ever find the need to."

"Thank you." Ren felt like they might choke from the overwhelming gratitude, "You know," They continues just as Ryohei made it to them, "You haven't changed that much from middle-school; you're still as nice, as kind and caring and willing to forgive and forget as back then."

They took a step back and bowed deep at the waist, "Thank you, Tsuna-san, for everything."

"Anytime," Tsuna smiled, warm and inviting, and for the first time, Ren allowed themself to accept the invite and bask in that warmth.

Ren watched Tsuna leave with Ryohei and his guards, laughing at the boxer's loud and excited chatter and Tsuna's quite, yet enthusiastic remarks.

"Hey," A soft voice said behind them.

Ren turned with a serene smile and greeted Nico with a kiss on the cheek, "Hi,"

"Something happened?"

"No, why do you ask?" Ren held his hand and started walking towards the exit.

"You seem," The blond hesitated, searching for the right word, "Not happy exactly, more… at peace, I suppose."

"Heh, I guess I am. I just met with an old acquaintance; I was really mean to him in middle-school, but he forgave me for it. I just-for the first time in my life it feels like I'm making peace with my past, it's really freeing." Ren spoke softly, and Nico noticed that a weight was lifted off their shoulder now that it was gone.

"I'm glad," He murmured quietly; it had always pained him to see the other strain under their past.

"Was that him? The one you were talking to and left with that Sasagawa guy that won?"

"Yeah, I guess they'd been friends since we were all in middle-school; Tsuna-san had the most unusual crowd around him." Ren laughed, for the first time their memories not tinted with guilt and sadness.

"Tsuna…?" Nico couldn't put his name on it, but the name seemed familiar.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Nico stopped dead in his tracks, "... Sawada… Tsunayoshi…" His voice was weak.

"Yes," Confusion and worry was clear in their tone, "Wha-?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi.. As in _Don Vongola_ Tsunayoshi Sawada, the head of Vongola?!" He remember Irie Shoichi telling him that he recommended him to the boss of all of Vongola, _Sawada Tsunayoshi._

Ren was silent for a moment before bursting out laughing, "I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past him to be one of the strongest people in the world and down play it! That would be just like him!"  
' _He really hasn't changed since middle school, has he?'_

"Come on," they pulled gently on the blond's hand, "Let's go home."

"Okay…" Nico said, voice still a little faint, following his partner to their home.

' _I really hope to meet you again, Tsuna-san. Don Vongola or not, I'd like to accept this second chance at friendship that you're offering me.'_

* * *

 **Okay, there's a few things I wanted to say about this story; the first is that it was hard as hell to write, I kept writing and re-writing it, I wanted to tackle a serious matter in this one in a somewhat light-hearted way, not sure if it worked or not.**

 **Also, the part where Tsuna tells Ren that it was not hard to guess that they were trans, it meant that Tsuna already guessed that when they were in school.**

 **I have an idea for nearly all of the Guardians, Reborn, and some of Vongola's allies. Some will play more significant roles in the story than others, but all of them would appear. If you want to see someone specific, or want me to write a specific plot, you're more than welcome to suggest it.**

 **Also, I apparently suck at keeping a schedule, this was meant to be out** _ **ages**_ **ago.**

 **Again, I am so sorry that it took this long.**

 **RogueMagic**


	7. Matsumoto Ayumu

**I don't know what happened the first time I uploaded this chapter, and I am so sorry that I couldn't fix it immediately, and thank you for letting me know about it, but it should be fine now.**

 **This takes place about 7-8 years later.**

 **Warning for Varia, and slight OOC behaviour.**

 **This is un-beta'd.**

 **See end of chapter for more notes.**

* * *

Matsumoto Ayumu, a new Varia recruit, was excited to be a potential member of one the most elite forces in the underworld.

Ayumu's parents are members of CEDEF, which stands for " _Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia_ ", meaning "External Advisors of the Family". His father pushed him to work hard his whole life, always encouraging him to do his best in order to be useful to the Famiglia when he was older.

He was on track to become a valuable member to assist the Family, and he couldn't be any happier.

Ayumu believes that good things were in store fo him in the future.

* * *

Tsuna was going to be late!

True, Xanxus might not care, but Reborn and Commander Squalo do, and they were going to _end_ him for it.

The young Sky hurried through the entrance to the Varia's castles, nodding distractedly at the guards that greeted him, all the while silently cursing his Guardians for starting a fight _the very second_ he stepped out the door, forcing him to step in and stop them from destroying anything and everything in their way. Again.

Honestly, you'd think that they'd mature a bit since they were in middle school. But alas, it seems that he spends less time leading the Famiglia than he does babysitting those destructive nutjobs he calls family…

He loved them, truly he did, but sometimes he just wanted to murder them all and finally get some peace and quiet. _'But things wouldn't be as fun without them around.'_ He thought with a little smile.

Tsuna hurried through the hallways, heading to Xanxus' office, unconsciously categorizing and memorizing everything and everyone in his way, a habit beating into him (literally) by Reborn. He noticed several of the older members that he was familiar with nod in greeting, while those he was on friendly terms with added a smile to that, while the newer members and the new recruits watched him curiously.

It was that particular habit that caused him to tense and prepare for a hostile encounter before his councouse mind could assess what he saw and the possible danger it might have on his person.

Up ahead a group of what looked like new recruits and Varia soldiers standing together, talking loudly among themselves. One of the recruits, though his back was turned to him, stood out in Tsuna's subconscious, an old instinct made him tense and brace himself for… _something,_ something unpleasant.

A couple of people that he knew well noticed him, smiling and waving politely; knowing their place with the Don (at least in public), despite becoming friends when he spent three hellish months living and training with them when they were new recruits, which caused the rest of the group to turn and look at what caught their comrades' attention.

Aside from the Varia Command and the few then-recruits that he became close to, few in the Varia knew that he was actually the _head of the Famiglia_ ; some think he's a high ranking enough member in the family that requires him to attend meetings with Xanxus, but most know that he's their boss' nephew (thanks to a nasty incident that occurred towards the end of the time he spent living as a varia recruit), which means that they don't know just how powerful and influential he is in their world.

One of the recruits that turned to see what their friends' attention seemed vaguely familiar, but Tsuna couldn't place him; a young Japanese man, in his early to mid twenties, straight short black hair, small brown eyes, average height, muscular. The man, on the other hand, and unlike the rest of the recruits, seemed to know who Tsuna was, at least partly.

With bugged out eyes and a slack jaw the man murmured, " _Dame-Tsuna? ...What..?_ "

Then it hit the young Don like a ton of bricks, or one of Reborn's kicks, Matsumoto Ayumu, he's a couple of years older than Tsuna, and has derived great pleasure from bullying the younger man during their shared school years (as did a lot of people), Matsumoto was particularly vicious in his verbal abuse, though his physical bullying was nothing more than a few 'accidental' pushes.

Upon hearing his near silent comment, the people surrounding him grew quite; three of the seven people around him knew _what_ Tsuna was in the _famiglia_ , another two knew that the gentle young man before them was their Boss' nephew (they were still working on the believing bit, no way was someone that nice related to Xanxus. Don't tell him they said that!), while the remaining two were new recruits and had no idea who the man approaching them was.

Tsuna sensed three pairs of eyes watching them with sudden interest, and groaned quietly; he didn't have time for this, " _Look Matsumoto, can we do this later? I'm kinda running late here_."

Ayumu didn't notice, or just didn't care, that almost everyone else in his vicinity was gesturing for him to forget about the rain-check Sawada was offering and drop the matter completely. The man, however, was not about let his curiosity go; Dame-Tsuna was everyone's favorite punchline in school, and yet here he was, in Varia headquarters, dressed in a suit that looks like it cost a small fortune, and standing like he owned the place and expected to be obeyed.

" _The hell you doing here, Sawada? This is the Varia, they don't accept losers like you even as footstools!_ " He laughed, not seeing the expressions of everyone listening harden with rage.

Tsuna idly wondered if he was sensing the dark aura from their three spectators because of his Hyper Intuition, or if the Varia soldiers needed better training since it doesn't appear like anybody else noticed yet.

"You people should really learn to quit while you're behind," Tsuna mumbled under his breath, louder he said coldly, " _A word to the wise, Matsumoto, insulting me here is not a good idea._ "

Seriously, what is it with people from his past not seeing him as anything other than the loser kid he was when his Flame was sealed.

Before Matsumoto could open his mouth to respond, one of the more seasoned soldiers cut him off; Ulrich Gwerder, who was a relatively new soldier when Tsuna trained with the recruits, he made the (nearly life ending) mistake of picking on the scrawny youth, "Seriously Matsumoto, drop this, for your own good."

Ayumu stared at the older man in confusion, why was he interfering in this. "What…?"

But Ulrich's attention was already elsewhere, "Commander Squalo is in a rather foul mood. He is currently in Boss' office, you best hurry Tsunayoshi, Sir."

"I thought so," Tsuna mumbled quietly, he was very much dead, "Thanks for telling me Ulrich."

The young Don was about to resume his journey to Xanxus' office when Ayumu stopped him again.

"Wait,what? Why would _he_ be meeting with the Commander, Sawada isn't anything special, and he certainly isn't strong enough, or smart enough to be Varia material."

 _'_ _How are you smart enough to be a Varia recruit if you can't tell what a horrible idea this conversation is?'_ Tsuna thought tiredly.

"I _really_ don't have time for this nonsense Matsumoto. I should've been in a meeting with Xanxus and Squalo already. If you have a problem with that, take it up with somebody else at your own risk."

"VOOOOIIIII! What are you scum doing standing around like idiots?!"

 _'_ _I'm_ so _dead…'_ Tsuna watched as the aforementioned Commander stomped towards them, _'At least it doesn't look like Squalo heared what Matsumoto said, those three however...'_

"Shishishi~ You disturbed the show, Sharky,"

Bell, Viper, and Lussuria made their presence known to the people present.

"What show? The Brat should be in the meeting with the Shitty Boss already!"

"That Matsumoto recruit was insulting Tsu-chan." Lussuria informed Squalo darkly, the Commander turned his glare from Tsuna to Ayumu, "We were waiting to see what he'd do, then teach the idiot a lesson on why he shouldn't mess with Tsu-Chan." The Sun continued joyfully.

" _Lussuria!_ "

"Yes, Tsu-Chan?" The older man replied with fake innocence.

Tsuna didn't bother with a reply, he had to stop a Shark from committing the murder he was currently plotting, "You do know that you'll be the one stuck with the paperwork from killing Matsumoto, right Commander? Zio definitely wouldn't do it."

They watched as the Varia second-in-command debated if it was the resulting paperwork if he killed the Japanese recruit now. "VOOOIII! You're coming with me NOW, Trash." He dragged Tsuna towards Xanxus office, muttering angrily about what he was going to do to the idiot recruit, the rest of the Varia Command trailing after them, enjoying the new show and debating the merits of his ideas.

"Looks like you're as good as dead, Matsumoto." Ulrich sighed, "Next time someone tells you to shut up, you do it. Especially regarding Tsunayoshi Sawada."

"What… Why?"

"Seriously," Katerina Megalos muttered, "Insulting the Boss' nephew," Ulrich taded looks with the other two that knew that Tsuna was the Decimo, while Katerina ignored Ayumu's fearful _"Nephew"_ , "You couldn't have been more idiotic if you tried.

Looks like grave bodily harm was in Ayumu's immediate future.

* * *

 **First off, I am so sorry for how long it took me to get this done. Life's been doing a good job of kicking my ass, and I've had zero motivation to write.**

 **I started this nearly a year and a half ago and kept getting stuck on it. I couldn't figure out when it was going and how I was going to get to the point I wanted. It still feels wrong, but I know I won't manage to do any better on this anytime soon, so I might as well get it out.**

 **Regarding these stories and writing new chapters:**

 **I am not abandoning this story, but I don't know if I'll manage to keep a proper release schedule.**

 **I have at least another 5 or 6 chapters planned, plus a few one shots that occur in the same universe that I'm going to publish separately.**

 **I will try to post bi-monthly (as in, every couple of months, twice a month. Don't you just** ** _love_** **English), but no promises.**

 **I first got into writing as a form of therapy, so the frequency of my writing is often connected to the state of my mental health.**

 **RogueMagic**


	8. Kita Noriko

**This takes place about 5YL, in Nanimori.**

 **As usual, this is not beta'd. I tried my best, but if you find any glaringly obvious mistakes, do let me know.**

 **Tsuna and the others are on a short vacation during spring break, and Kyoko and Haru want to spend some time alone with their friend.**

 **There are more notes in the end.**

Tsuna woke up, like he usually does nowadays, to loud noises and the sound of things crashing.

This racket, however, was not caused by destructive Guardians, but by hyperactive siblings, eager to start the day.

The nineteen-year-old smiled as he thought about the small vacation he was spending with his family and friends, without the stress of their job, education, and dangerous life weighing on them.

They had arrived at Namimori two days ago, and he had spent every possible moment with his mother and siblings.

Tsuna noticed a slight change in the sounds coming from down-stairs, and recognised the voices of Hayato and Ryohei and, oddly enough, Haru arguing loudly, while Kyoko and Takeshi were adding to the argument in a much lower voice.

He quickly got ready for the day and made his way downstairs.

"What's going on?" He asked Fuuta, who was watching the squabble from the foot of the stairs along with I-Pin and Lambo.

"I'm not sure," The teenager answered hesitantly, "They were already arguing when they got here."

Tsuna nodded absently, and notices Chrome next to the Haru and Kyoko on one side, with the boys standing opposite them.

There was a brief lull in the conversation when they noticed Tsuna, then Kyoko announced loudly, "You get to see Tsu-kun all the time in Italy, we get to spend the day with him now!"

Haru nodded her agreement and Chrome added her quiet support, "They're right, we spend all our time with Boss, they've hardly seen him since we graduated."

Tsuna interjected, seeing as Hayato was about to explode, "I think that sounds fair; I'll spend the day with the girls, and then tomorrow all of us will do something together."

Kyoko and Haru brightened at that, as did the kids, eager to spend a day with other members of their (admittedly crazy) family, while the others, save Chrome, gave reluctant nods to that.

"Well, it's decided!" Haru exclaimed excitedly, and she and Kyoko each grabbed one of Tsuna's arms and proceeded to drag him with them, "See you all tomorrow!"

And then they were gone.

After grabbing a quick breakfast, Tsuna and the girls spent hours wandering around Namimori; checking out the changes that occurred to the town after a long absence, visiting the places they used to frequent when they were younger, reminiscing about old times and all the trouble Tsuna and his family got into, and catching up on what's happened in their lives since they last saw each other.

Tsuna had left to continue his studies in Italy straight after graduating, along with Hayato, Takeshi, and Chrome; Mukuro and Ryohei had gone there a year prior, after finishing their own high school careers; and Hibari followed them after settling a few thing with the fledgling Foundation.

Haru and Kyoko, on the other hand, decided to finish their higher education in Japan; Haru in Bunka Fukusou Gakuin, Japan's most respectable fashion design school; and Kyoko at NNT Ballet School, an exceptional school for aspiring professional dancers.

While at least half of Tsuna's and the Guardians' time was spent learning more about the Family, how to manage it, and unending training sessions with the Ninth generation and the Arcobaleno, the girls also spent some time (although considerably less than the Guardians did) learning how to be a part of a mafia Family, the politics involved, and how to defend themselves.

Eventually, they ended up sitting on a bench in a park close to the shopping district in town, talking about their experiences with higher education.

"I had a professor last term that always forgot what he wanted to say exactly thirty-two minutes into class, always." Tsuna was telling them, "It was so weird, and no one managed to figure out why. Hayato joined two American transfer students to stalk him in order to discover more about him."

The girls laughed at that, "Did they find anything interesting?"

"Not that I know of…"

It was then that they heard a voice call out _"Kyoko-Chan!"_.

Looking around they spotted a brown haired girl make her way over towards them.

"Uh! Noriko-Chan!" Kyoko called back.

Tsuna remembers the name from school, Kita Noriko had a nasty attitude towards those she considered beneath her, and who lower than 'Dame-Tsuna'.

"Who is that?" Haru asked curiously.

"Kita Noriko, she went to school with me and Kyoko. We were in the same class throughout all of middle school."

Haru and Tsuna watched silently as the girl reached Kyoko and hugged her, "I haven't seen you since graduation! How are you?"

Kyoko smiled politely at her, while she was on friendly terms with nearly everyone in school, she didn't have any real friends outside of the Family. Her one real friend before she got close with Tsuna and the others was Hana, who also joined their Family when they were in high-school.

Everyone that Kyoko called friend was involved with the Vongola Famiglia, or other allied Families, in some way, shape, or form.

"I've been well. How about you?" Kyoko didn't want to have small talk, but it was the polite thing to do.

"I'm good, I'm good." She laughed, then noticed Kyoko's two companions, "Oh! Who are your friends? Why don't you introduce us."

Haru and Tsuna watched as the young woman turned towards them, not yet realising who the young man sitting with her former classmate was.

"Oh! That is Miura Haru, we met because of Tsu-kun in middle-school, Haru this is Kita Noriko, we were in the same class in middle-school." Haru and Noriko greeted each other softly, before the girl turned to Tsuna, "And who is he?"

"Ara?" Kyoko was confused, "You don't remember Tsu-kun? He was in our class in middle-school,"

"Tsu-kun? I don't remember that name,"

"Yes Tsu-kun," Tsuna watched in amusement as Kyoko's and Haru's confusion grew, "Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Sawada Tsu...na - you mean Dame-Tsuna!? Why are you hanging out with that loser!?"

While Tsuna had become somewhat desensitized to demeaning nicknames and insults thanks to years of going through the abuse, and no longer cared what the people he went to school with (barely acquaintances at best, honestly) thought of him and decided to call him, his friends and family would not stand for people mistreating him. Tsuna knew this very well.

He knew that Haru, who has never seen how Tsuna's school-mates treated him, would become extremely angry, and would not hesitate to give Kita a piece of her mind. Kyoko, on the other hand, had witnessed time and time again how horrible their classmates were to the brunet, and normally would not interfere, simply because Tsuna had asked her not to. Normally.

Right now, with almost a whole year between them and the end of high-school, and a really low chance of ever seeing these people again, with Haru to tag-team with against the person insulting their friend, she would not back down, regardless of what Tsuna has to say on the mater. Noriko won't know what hit her until it was too late.

"Hahi?! What did you call Tsuna-san?" Haru's tone was full of indignation and righteous rage.

"Wha-"

Noriko didn't have a chance to finish a single word before Kyoko cut her off, her voice like brittle glass "Tsu-kun is an amazing person, and he doesn't have to deal with people like you insulting him!"

"Haru, Kyoko, you don't have to…" Tsuna trailed off when the two young women turned their glares onto him; they will not stop regardless of what he thinks of it.

Tsuna, knowing a losing battle when he sees one, just sighed and let his friends deal with this. For the moment, at least.

"Amazing? Come _on_ , Kyoko-Chan, don't tell you've forgotten how _utterly_ useless he was when we were younger?"

"He might've been clumsy and bad at academics, but that _does not mean_ Tsu-kun was a useless person."

"He saved Haru when she was awful towards him before we became friends. At the risk of his own life, even!" In her anger, Haru found herself returning to the speech patterns she favoured in her younger years.

"He is a sweet and caring person,"

"Always makes sure his friends and Family are well and happy,"

"Makes time for his sibling, even when he's super busy,"

"He is always there for them, no matter what."

"He makes sure that his mum is happy and content,"

"Works hard to keep everyone safe,"  
"And is willing to risk his life to help others,"

" _And_ he's willing to forgive almost anyone if they apologise and mean it,"

While Kyoko and Haru were recounting all the things that make Tsuna plain awesome (and being careful not say anything relating to the mafia) in rapid succession, Tsuna was getting redder with each point.

"So yes, Noriko-Chan, Tsu-kun is _completely_ amazing!"

Seeing that the situation was just going to get tenser with each passing moment if nothing was done, and that the conversation wasn't going to get them anywhere with Kita's rudeness and conviction of Tsuna's inferiority, combined with Kyoko's and Haru's desire to defend their friend, the young Don-to-be decided to step in.

"He can't be all that. He's just Dame-Tsuna, he-"

The Vengola girls were getting ready for another round when Tsuna cut Noriko off, "With all due respect, Kita-san," Tsuna's tone held anything but respect in it, but the coldness and sheer authority of it kept Noriko from interrupting, "You do not know me now, nor did you really know anything about me back then to give a definite verdict on my character. Be that as it may be, seeing go out of your way to insult me, as you've often done in middle-school, is quite embarrassing to watch, and gives the impression that you -and our other peers- were somewhat obsessed with me.'

Noriko's face became bright red as the word's meaning sunk in. Tsuna just smirked and continued, " As flattering as it is to see that is still the case, I was catching up with two dear friends since we have not seen each other for the past few month, and you are interrupting that. So, if you have nothing of value to say, I think you should leave, so that we may get back to that."

Although it was worded as a request, the commanding tone was hard to miss; so with a muttered _"Whatever,"_ Noriko turned around and left the three friends.

It was silent for a moment, and then Tsuna spoke up again, this time in a gentle manner, "You didn't have to do that,"

The two women's feachers softened at that, "Of course we did, Tsuna-san,"

"That's what friends are for,"

"Still, thank you."

Kyoko and Haru shared a glance before grabbing Tsuna like they did that morning.

"You can thank us with ice-cream!"

The Sky laughed as he let his friends drag him around with them, knowing that they wanted to help get the horrid exchange and insults out of his mind. He honestly couldn't care less about things like that if his friends were by his side.

After all, he had already figured out that their opinion and support were the only ones that mattered.

 **And done!**

 **I should have finished this a week ago (I only had the last bit with Tsuna left), but apparently I am terrible with time management.**

 **I also learned that I can't keep a schedule to save my life (or academic career; I almost missed two assignments last week alone because of said awful time management), so I won't be posting chapters bi-monthly, but rather whenever I get them done. However, I'll still try not to have long time between the chapters getting published.**

 **Also, there's like a 90% chance that the next chapter feachers Reborn!**

 **I did want to say that although I don't usually reply to reviews, I do read and appreciate every single one. I want to thank you for them, for the support you show me in them, and for just caring about what I write.**

 **So, if you like the story or have something you want me to write about, leave a comment, or head over to my new tumblr blog** **blog/roguemagic97** **(which is empty at the moment) that is dedicated to my writing, where you can ask about my OC's, what plots I plan to go with, and generally anything you want to know.**

 **RougeMagic**


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